“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” (Exo. 20:3-5)

The path to freedom is knowing the truth. Truth is not merely the inscriptions we know and read in the Bible. It is above all a Person and rightly so, we need to get connected to Him to be set free. The main reason we find many bound and deceived is not because they do not know the truth but rather because they do not have love for the Truth (2 Thes. 2:10). Truth can kill when we do not know how to use it well and when we are not truly connected to the person of Truth (John 14:6).
    This was the main reason why the very ones who proclaimed the truth did not find it and even persecuted the very One whom they were seeking. They could look at Jesus squarely with their two eyes and still ask what is truth?
    Let  us take  a  look  once  more  about  offenses. Offense  was the single biggest reason why the Jews rejected Jesus  Christ because He came like a pauper, a suffering Messiah which offended many of them. They were offended in the package the Father sent His gift to them and to this world.
    To them they would like to imagine the Messiah to be the conquering hero who would rescue them not just from sin or corruption but also from the clutches of the Roman Empire. To see Jesus proclaiming Himself the King of the Jews who was born a peasant and who later became a carpenter in one of the most backward places of Israel was really an offense to most of them.
Flawed imaginations

    He was the very opposite of their imagined Savior, a case they could not reconcile with their theology so that frustration and confusion run high among them. For a people whose society, culture and practice has been one of the most distinct and oppressed, the only image that matters to them is the image painted by former leaders that promised them a King, a conquering Messiah who would free them from the very oppression that the Roman emperors has yoked them. They however stumbled over the prophecies and passages that refer to Jesus Christ as their true Messiah who would set them free. 
    They have forgotten that the very first issue between them and God was never political freedom but idolatry. They were exiled from the Promised Land not because they lost their freedom but because of their idolatry. When we forget the real issues, we are almost always certainly to end up expecting the wrong answers.

“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see. Where have you not been adulterously lain with? By the wayside you have sat waiting for lovers [eager for idolatry], like an Arabian [desert tribesman who waits to plunder] in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your vile harlotry and your wickedness (unfaithfulness and disobedience to God). Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.” (Jer. 3:2-3 AMP)
“And I saw, even though [Judah knew] that for this very cause of committing adultery (idolatry) I [the Lord] had put faithless Israel away and given her a bill of divorce; yet her faithless and treacherous sister Judah was not afraid, but she also went and played the harlot [following after idols].” (Jer. 3:8 AMP)
“My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray [to favorite places of idolatry] on mountains [that seduce]. They have gone from [one sin to another] mountain to hill; they have forgotten their [own] resting-place.” (Jer. 50:6 AMP)
“And I will set My face against them; they shall go out from one fire and another fire shall devour them, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. And I will make the land desolate (laid waste and deserted) because they have acted faithlessly [through their idolatry], says the Lord.” (Ezek. 15:7-8 AMP)
    The spiritual leaders of Israel became blind to the other passages that refer to the Messiah who would be bearing the sin of the world, crushed, marred, despised and downtrodden, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:3 KJV). They have been blinded by their personal agenda of political freedom which promises the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel and their desire to see a conquering King who would save them.
    It was much like the times of the prophet Samuel when the people cried out for a king to rule them and God gave them Saul (I Sam. 8:5). They wanted a king and they wanted it so badly so that Saul became their king; a king who was ruled by his insecurities and false sense of humility. They have forgotten the real issues between them and God so that sin easily clouded their views, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isa. 59:2 KJV).
    When Jesus proclaimed who He was by reading the passage written by the prophet Isaiah, the people of His congregation almost threw Him down the cliff! In this passage, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners;  To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn” (Isa. 61:1-2), was the cornerstone of His ministry and life; He came to set the captives free. But even His very hometown rejected His message and refused to believe Him, that, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).
    It is amazing to find that even when God preaches Himself to people, we are very stubborn to not believe in Him. They could have other reasons to not believe in Him but even Moses prophesied of His coming, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him” (Deut. 18:15). Sin can blind us, and so are traditions which are not based on truth (Matt. 15:3). The more we do them, the more we think they are right although in the end we are simply wrong. When we do not take risk to explore the new things that God are doing we will certainly end up empty and without hope (Isa. 43:19).
    What happened? One thing is clear during the time of the Lord’s first appearance to Israel, apostasy has taken its toll among the people and the clergy. Tradition has supplanted the love for truth (Matt. 15:3) and religion has become a commodity among the cleric (Matt. 23:13).
    In fact, the Lord has to send His harbinger and the most anointed servant heaven can produce to shake up the fallow ground and prepare the people for Him.

Preparing the way

    John the Baptist was commissioned to prepare the way of God. He smoothened His path so that the people would be able to discern “the Christ” among them. Without the work of John, it would have been more difficult for the people to see Jesus as He was-the Lamb of God. This is why when the Pharisees came to ask John who he was, he said, I am not the one, for I am not even worthy to untie the laces of His sandals. This humble servant, changed the face of Israel by bringing fire from heaven. His fiery anointing brought people to repentance so that they will indeed see the Holy One of God.
“As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;  THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’” John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.” (Mark 1:2-5)
    John was there as a representative of all the Old Testament prophets to point to Jesus that indeed He was the Messiah they have been waiting for. Under the Law of Moses no one will be accepted according to his own account, “In the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed” (Deut. 19:15).
    And Jesus Himself said, “If I alone bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true.  “There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony which He bears of Me is true.  “You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  “But the witness which I receive is not from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.  “But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  “And the Father who sent Me, He has orne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form” (John 5:31-37).
    Thus, John the Baptist, the works that He did and the voice of the Father testified that the Lord Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah that Israel failed to see.  In spite of passing all close scrutiny according to the Scriptures, Jesus was still rejected because His message did not ring with the traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees.
    Only the humble, the contrite and the repentant came to Him. His message left a trail of hope, forgiveness, healing and life among the peasants, laborers, and commoners such as the fishermen of Galilee, the Samaritan woman who was living in immorality, the prostitute, the lepers and a Pharisee and rich man who sought the Truth. They found that Jesus Christ was indeed the true Messiah and welcomed Him as thus without much ado. With the simple, Jesus showed Himself openly including to the Samaritan woman,
“The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!” Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him.” (John 4:25-30 NLT)
“And from that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”  So when the Samaritans came to Him, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His word;  and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4:39-42)

    They also believe without much questioning having found Him to be the Savior they were looking for. Those who have much faith are not always rich but God has become their greatest treasure. The rich are often almost always poor of faith and their treasures do not last to eternity. It is this paradox that often traps us to make the wrong decisions in life. Some who were poor wanted to get rich quickly and some who were rich despises the poor. Nevertheless these stations in life are there to tests us but it is not biblical to always stay poor unless it is the will of God.

Pride blinds, humility opens doors

    Thinking back of the Samaritan woman, the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ and the commoners who were always there to listen to His teachings and contrasting them with the Pharisees and Sadducees, I find that people with less in life materially are often gifted with a spiritual discernment that not even the learned can fathom. The Lord said, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight (Luke 10:21).
    Even the apostle Paul wisely considered this and wrote, “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent…But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:  That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Cor. 1:19, 27-29).         The very wisdom and learning of the Pharisees became a stumbling block to their understanding of God. They thought they knew everything there is in the Law of Moses to understand how God operates. 
    Pride blinds. The spiritual leaders of the Israel failed miserably and missed everything concerning the prophecies about the coming Messiah. They misled their people and until now they are waiting for the first coming of their Messiah. 
    On the other hand, the Samaritans, commoners and other malcontents were quick to believe in the Lord, including those who have needs for food, healing and salvation. This observation has not changed today. The more affluent societies have buried their Bibles long time ago while the poor and needy are more open to talking about the gospel as well as their needs.  The humble who confesses his need of Him comes to dwell with Him regardless of status in this life and He teaches His ways to them. To the proud He remains to be the rock of offense and resists all attempts to seek the truth. 
“For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”  This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”  and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.” (1 Pet. 2:6-8)
“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”  (James 4:6-8) 
“He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.” (Ps. 25:9)
    Paul’s life is a good illustration of how God can transform one of the most vicious persecutors in history to one of the greatest defenders of faith. He was according to his confession, a Pharisee of Pharisees from the tribe of Benjamin; he was a persecutor of the Church, a murderer. But with one blinding light from the Lord, this prince of Pharisees heard the Lord and saw a vision of Him which totally transformed his life right side up.
    He claimed to know the truth but when he met the Truth Himself, he was blinded and could not see for days until another disciple healed him. When we claim to know something when we don’t fully understand it, we block the light of understanding. It is always better to say, “Yes, I know it” or “No I don’t”.
    Paul persecuted Christians because he claims to know them that they were false. Many people who have near death experiences or those afflicted with terminal diseases almost always know where to focus their strengths and energies; their afflictions guide them to do a no nonsense thing. When John Milton became totally blind, his poetry became more intense, more graceful and found his solitude in Christ alone. He wrote, “Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained,” when he was already blind. To find true freedom, one has to be humble, able to receive from others regardless of the messenger. The lover of Truth will always find a way though the path maybe strewn with thorns and briers.